La Rochelle — long been in Stormers’ sights
La Rochelle set sail for Cape Town this week for a clash against opponents with ambitious hopes of emulating their Champions Cup conquests.
La Rochelle’s rise among European rugby’s elite came almost as quickly as that of the Stormers in the inaugural United Rugby Championship (URC).
La Rochelle, however, would have been in for a choppy swell on their departure. Leinster made waves at the home of the back-to-back champions last weekend and the resulting swell will probably make its way from Pertuis d’Antioche to Table Bay.
La Rochelle’s defeat last weekend has further elevated the significance of Saturday’s clash at the Cape Town Stadium, as the champions cannot afford to slip up two weeks in a row.
The Stormers are in the same boat. If they harboured ambitions of resting some of their heavy artillery, there is no doubt they will need all hands on deck this weekend. One could argue that after their excesses against Leinster last weekend, La Rochelle might be suffering battle fatigue but exactly the opposite may be true of the Stormers.
They rested their brightest stars for last weekend’s away clash against Leicester Tigers. Moreover, their Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks have been off since they saw the fireworks light up the Paris sky in late October.
The Stormers have been lying in wait for this encounter and opted to travel a little light in caps and reputation for their trip to the Tigers last weekend. Though they will be fully loaded and ready to put the Noon Gun to shame, questions remain about how their ship has been steered this season.
Long-time captain Steven Kitshoff has jumped ship to Ulster, while his successor Salmaan Moerat remains sick bay bound. They have also lost mastman Marvin Orie.
Their most experienced hand Deon Fourie gave a salty reality check. “That’s how life works. You get people in and some leave,” he said. “Neethling [Fouche] has stepped up and he is talking and inspiring the okes. Adre [Smith] is taking up some responsibility at defensive lineout time. He is not the Adre I knew before I left for the Boks, so those guys have stepped up and they have grown as leaders as well.
“That is how you form leaders, by putting them in situations and seeing how they are doing and they rose to the occasion.
“Yes, you will never replace a Kitsie or a Marvin but with the guys coming through, that’s part of growing and being a better leader and player.”
The Stormers have underwhelmed so far this season, but Fourie reminded that the season is long pointing to Munster’s surge to the URC title earlier in 2023. Munster came good when it mattered at the back end of the season.
La Rochelle will this week have feisty head coach Ronan O’Gara back after he served a touchline ban last weekend.
On the pitch they will probably ask uncomfortable questions, especially up front. Uini Atonio, Will Skelton and Pierre Bourgarit will provide the heavy hitting. La Rochelle — when they decide to pick and go — are a very difficult team to contain.
Levani Botia gives them deft hands and strong will over the ball at the breakdown. Thankfully for the Stormers regular La Rochelle captain Grégory Alldritt has been given two months off after the RWC and will only return in the new year.
At the back, Jonathan Danty, who has the dimensions of a brick structure usually separated from the main dwelling, provides them further thrust, while flyhalf Antoine Hastoy and fullback Brice Dulin gives them intelligent, on-a-string manipulation of the ball off the boot.
The Stormers will need to have all their bases covered. They have seen La Rochelle coming, but whether they can stop them is another matter.